


Lines of Love

by Heychanie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: ABO, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, F/M, M/M, Mark is an Asshole, Not Beta Read, Two Shot, donghyuck is insecure, low-key cliche, nomin are kinda assholes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-07-14 05:51:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16034300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heychanie/pseuds/Heychanie
Summary: It's fucked up that Mark would hide the fact that him and Donghyuck were mates, but it's even more fucked up that he didn't really seem to care.





	1. Chapter 1

By the age of 14, alphas would know by scent who their mate was, and by the age of 15, betas would know by scent who their mate was, but omegas were made differently, and Donghyuck found that extremely unfair. Omegas aren’t able to know who their mates were until the age of 16, and instead of scent, they find out who their mate was by touch. 

  
  


It wasn’t hard for most omegas. Their mates would scent them out when they reach of age, and when the omega were to reach age, they would be able to confirm by touching their partner. 

  
  
  


There are always rare cases when an alpha or beta refuses to reach out to their mate as soon as they realize who it was, because in honesty, who wouldn’t want to meet their soulmate? The person that is destined for you to love and hold, and they return affection with even more than you thought was possible. But when the rare cases were to happen, it left many near death results. Ignoring your mate can lead to serious illnesses or even death. It would normally affect the side being ignored first, and before long it would be too late for the ignorer to realize their mistakes.

  
  


Donghyuck had only turned 16 nearly six months ago, and is yet to find his mate. He grew anxious when he wasn’t already comforted by his mate, but his anxiousness is even worse now that he’s it 16.

  
  


Growing up, Donghyuck was told countless stories about mates and how much they cherished each other. Even his own mother and father were lovey-dovey with each other day to night, they never seemed to fight. That grew as a foundation for Donghyuck to imagine what his future would look like with his mate. It was bound to be a male, since he was gay himself, but Donghyuck couldn’t help but worry.

  
  


By now, he should have found his mate, or more like his mate should have found him since he  was the omega (omegas are the younger mate 95% of the time) - unless his mate was way younger than originally thought to be. It was rare to not find your mate after a couple months of coming of age, but it wasn’t impossible. This just brought him down even more, since Donghyuck knew absolutely no one that had found their mate anytime after six months, they all find their mate a week or two after coming of age. Afterall, it is fate for a reason. 

  
  


Donghyuck grew up as a bright child. He constantly saw the good out of everything, and loved making people smile. His aunts and uncles constantly spoiled him and sprouted comments such as,  _ ‘my gosh! Your mate is just going to love you!’ _ and,  _ ‘Donghyuck, you’re such a sweetheart! You deserve someone special.’ _ Before squishing his cheeks and gushing. All the attention given to Donghyuck at a young age gave him loads of confidence to not only love the people around him, but also himself. He never once thought badly about himself, not even when his younger brother, Jisung, came along and took some of his spotlight. Instead, he just spent his time protecting his baby brother, and sharing his love.

  
  


But the love he received was only at home. 

  
  


At school, Donghyuck turned out to be a quiet boy. After being bullied for being too ‘tan’ while he was in the first grade, and later on for being ‘overweight’ in third grade, Donghyuck became extremely quiet at school. The bullying caused Donghyuck to constantly hide himself in his shell all the way to middle school, where he met two boys: Jaemin and Jeno. They were quite the pair, constantly bickering and smacking each other harshly one minute, and then cuddling and giggling with each other the next. 

  
  


Jaemin was a beta, while Jeno was an alpha. They befriended Donghyuck in the span of two days. Donghyuck blamed that on the fact that they didn’t know Donghyuck until middle school, because if they did, then the pair most likely would have sided with the bullies, and for that, Donghyuck was grateful.

  
  


They were the three musketeers in middle school, and then Jeno turned 14 and found at Jaemin was his mate - not that anyone was surprised though. Everyone knew it was going to happen, even Donghyuck’s parents did. 

  
  


Slowly but surely, the pair started spending more time with each other. They started inviting Donghyuck less and less, and blamed it on the fact that they needed more time with each other due to school (even though they had five out of seven classes with each other, including lunch).

  
  


Eventually, Donghyuck’s self esteem started plummeting again. He started to hate his tan skin, his weirdly shaped lips, and the thickness of his thighs. Overall, Donghyuck hated being an omega. Maybe his mate just didn’t want him? Maybe they knew that it was Donghyuck, but would rather avoid him instead of confronting the truth. The constant thoughts of self-hate swam through Donghyuck’s head, and it went unseen by everybody.

  
  


***

  
  


By the time Mark was 14, he had figured out that Donghyuck was his mate. He could smell the hint of mint and and cotton candy that lingered the hallways. It has been Mark’s favorite scent ever since. Of course Mark followed the scent, and as soon as Mark found out it was Donghyuck, he turned his back and never looked over his shoulder ever again. 

  
  


Donghyuck was a boy. Someone that wasn’t a girl, and someone he assumed that his family would surely not like. Most of his friends all knew their mates as well, and they all turned out to be the opposite gender of themselves. Why couldn’t it be like that for himself?

  
  


So he started to avoid Donghyuck. Not that they had ever talked, but he was afraid that once Donghyuck turned 16, he would come up to Mark one day and touch him on the shoulder and his life would go straight to hell.

 

Every time he looked up and saw Donghyuck, he’d turn the opposite way and leave. If avoiding Donghyuck meant that he had to cross a bridge on fire, then so be it. Mark was not risking his social life, and he was not risking his future. 

  
  


But maybe Mark should have paid attention more in health class, because he surely didn’t understand the consequences of avoiding your mate.

  
  


***

  
  


Donghyuck groaned as his clock flickered from 11:59 PM to 12:00 AM, signaling the beginning of December 6. The date may mean nothing to many, but it meant almost everything to Donghyuck. It meant that it had been six months and Donghyuck is yet to find his mate, and he’s bound to feel the effects of it soon. 

  
  


Donghyuck would walk the hallways of his highschool, and gently brushed past everybody that came into his sight. No matter what gender, he would continue to ‘accidentally’ brush his hand on their wrist or hand, hoping for a tingling sensation to come, but it never did.

  
  


But maybe he deserved it? Maybe all the kids in elementary were right? Maybe he didn’t deserve the love of a mate, and didn’t deserve the love of his family. Maybe it was his skin or maybe it was his eyes, but whatever it was, Donghyuck started to truly hate himself.

  
  


***

  
  


Walks to school was Donghyuck’s favorite part of the day. The sun barely peaked above the horizon, and the birds were wide awake. He got to listen to his favorite music, and nothing pissed him off before hand.

  
  


Naturally, Donghyuck’s mother gave him a fat kiss on the cheek before rushing him to school, and shouting a quick, ‘tell your mate to take care of himself!’

  
  


Donghyuck’s parents have never met his mate, but that’s because Donghyuck doesn't even have one to begin with. He completely lied to his parents’ faces after weeks of not finding a mate and panicking, Donghyuck blurted he had found his mate that was out of the country for a year to study abroad. His parents ended up believing him anyways since he was a ‘good’ child. That was the first major lie Donghyuck had ever told his parents, but that could be fixed later on.

  
  


Donghyuck only saw his mother in the morning, and then she was gone till the next day. And his father was only seen three or four times a week. They worked abroad often which left Donghyuck to care for his brother, and all their attention remained on their work.

  
  


Arriving to class, Donghyuck noticed that the two seats located next to him were empty. The seats usually belonged to Jaemin and Jeno, but as per usual, they were probably skipping to make out on the roof again. 

  
  


Donghyuck sighed, and sat his body on the empty seat next to the two reserved for his friends. It has been like this for awhile. Donghyuck was constantly lonely nowadays due to the lack of his friends’ presence. The bullies seemed to notice that as well, and used it well to their advantage. But Donghyuck never told anyone, he was already to much of a hassle for his parents, and an annoying third wheel to his two only friends. 

  
  


Donghyuck’s first period was art, maybe one of his favorite classes besides choir. His art class had a mix of students from all grades at his school, and it included his favorite student as well - a senior named Mark Lee. Donghyuck never had the guts to even stand next to him, which makes him sure that he would never even start a conversation with Mark Lee - ever. 

  
  


But another reason art class was special to Donghyuck was the person who taught it, Mrs. Kang. She noticed Donghyuck’s quietness ever since his best friends changed their relationship status, and she reached out to him. The young teacher constantly tried to cheer him up, and make the tan boy smile. She eventually managed to reach out to him, and now every lunch Donghyuck enjoys his meals with Mrs. Kang, instead of sitting alone at lunch. 

  
  


Mrs. Kang noticed Donghyuck’s passion for drawing, and art itself, that she ended up buying a pretty expensive sketchbook along with pencils for her favorite student. Right away Donghyuck declined her offer of the extremely expensive gift, but Mrs. Kang urged him to accept it, and that she wouldn’t stop until he took them.

 

That sketchbook is now filled up with drawings of his friends and family, but even so, you would find more of Mark Lee than any other person in there. Donghyuck honestly couldn't help it. He found the existence of Mark Lee himself a wonder. From his strong cheekbones to his perfectly sculpted hands, Donghyuck was completely infatuated with the thought of Mark Lee. Some pages were filled with far captures of the Canadian, and some were close ups of his eyes and hands.

 

Donghyuck knows that he shouldn’t completely indulge himself into the thought of Mark Lee because he for sure has a mate somewhere out there in the world, but until Donghyuck finds that special someone, his special someone would have to be Mark Lee. 

  
  


***

  
  


Study hall was held in the Library and that was his fifth period of the day. It was located all the way in the back of the school were all the smokers hung out to skip class. They haven't hung out their since late october due to the construction on that area of school, but now that it’s over they slowly started to occupy that area once again. 

  
  


Donghyuck had nothing against people who smoke weed and cigarettes, but he was completely against the people that smoked weed and cigarettes at his school. They teased Donghyuck constantly, and never left the poor boy alone. They would follow him and bug him about his sketchbook, and about his mate because apparently everyone in the school knew about him being desperate for a mate. 

  
  


There were good and bad days when it comes to walking to his fifth period, and today was one of the bad days. All of them were high out of their minds. Their eyes were dead red, and their movements were sluggish, but they still managed to corner Donghyuck against two walls. 

  
  


“Ya know, i've always wondered what you kept in that book of yours,  _ Hyuckie _ .” All eyes landed on the book clutched in Donghyuck’s hands.

  
  


“Let’s make this an easy day. Give me it,” the leader of the group hung his hand out for Donghyuck to place the book in.

  
  


Donghyuck shook his head, “no.”

  
  


“What did you say?  _ No? _ ”

  
  


Donghyuck clutched his book closer his chest. His eyes glanced around frantically hoping to find a chance to escape, or even a teacher to help him, but he was completely helpless. His eyes skittered around the lockers until they land upon golden brown hair that belonged to Mark Lee. 

  
  


Donghyuck watched as his crush stood far by the lockers and watch as Donghyuck got pushed around. Donghyuck’s eyes widened as he made eye contact with Mark’s, and gave a look that meant,  _ ‘help me, I’m desperate.’ _

  
  


Suddenly, a hand bearing multiple rings came down on his sketchbook, and knocked it right out of his Donghyuck’s hand. During the moment Donghyuck was distracted by Mark Lee, his grip on his book softened, letting the juniors and seniors knock it out of his grasp. Donghyuck immediately dove for the book. His knees roughly hit the ground as his hand reached out for the book, but a black boot came into his line of sight a stomp harshly on his outreached hand. 

  
  


Donghyuck let out a painful whimper, and drew his hand towards his chest as his sketchbook was picked up by a girl named Oh Sujin. Donghyuck watched in horror has her delicate fingers skipped across the pages, and her dark brown eyes lit up in humor.

  
  


“Well, looks like our little Hyuckie has a crush on you, Mark.” Her feline-like eyes glanced over to Mark. As a reply he only kissed his teeth, and rolled his eyes.

  
  


“Hyuckie, you-”

  
  


“Don’t call me that!” Donghyuck cut her off. “Give me back my damn-  _ oof _ .” The same black boot that crushed Donghyuck’s hand came down on his back. His knees gave out beneath him, and he landed on his stomach. 

  
  


“Don't speak out of turn,  _ fag _ .” The senior dug the heel of his boot deeper into Donghyuck’s back.

  
  


“Yo Mark, come check out his book, it’s real creepy dude.” He chucked the book over to said boy.

  
  


Mark grasped the heavy book before he hesitantly opened the book. It seemed the every other page was filled up with drawings of himself. Most recent one being today during first period when he was speaking with Wong Yukhei. He glanced briefly at Donghyuck who was laying on the ground, still struggling to get up.

  
  


Mark’s eyes went back into the book. He flipped the pages and became immersed with the drawings. The lines were light and soft and every image was created with feeling. Before Mark knew it, there was a screech and Donghyuck was running full speed at him. Mark noticed the bruised cheek the tan boy held, and the teary eyes he had has he rushed towards the book in Mark’s hand. 

  
  


Donghyuck reached out to rip the book out of Mark’s grasp, but as he did, his finger grazed Mark’s wrist. He bite back his gasp and looked up at Mark’s face to see red emotionless eyes as his was blue.

  
  


_ He knew all along. _

  
  


Donghyuck took of running towards the back exit with his book held tightly towards his chest, and his heavy heart weighing down his footsteps.

  
  


***

  
  


Of course Mark felt the guilt that weighed down his entire body when he walked home from his after school that day. Who wouldn’t, ya know? 

  
  


His club meeting didn’t end till six, and he ran into some friends who wanted to hang out with him till eight. He expected Donghyuck to react like that if he were to ever find out, but what he didn’t expect was to find Donghyuck laying on his porch.

  
  


Mark gasped as he rushed over towards the pale boy. Was he dead? What the fuck, why was he even here in the first place? He grabbed the smaller male’s wrist and checked for a pulse.

  
  


_ Ba-dump. _

  
  


_ Ba-dump. _

  
  


_ Ba-dump. _

  
  


Mark sighed as he released the wrist, and ignored the attraction that lingered between the them. He ran his hand over his face before opening his front door, and picking Donghyuck under his knees and the small of his back. 

  
  


Donghyuck’s skin was cold from the winter air. What kind of dumbass sits outside in freezing cold weather? Mark slammed the door shut behind him with his foot, and marched up the stairs towards his bedroom.

  
  


Thankfully, his parents were on a business trip in Canada and wouldn’t be back for another week, or else they’d freak out to see a boy laying in Mark’s bed, and sprout some religious words on him.

  
  


Mark swaddled the freezing cold boy in two blankets, and pushed him closer towards the wall, so that Mark would have some room to lay as well. By now, Mark figured that the boy probably wasn’t asleep, but had probably passed out due to the cold weather. 

  
  


Mark could only lay down next to donghyuck as he waited for the omega boy to wake up. He stared at Donghyuck’s long eyelashes, curved lips, and soft hair. The small boy grasped onto the blankets that surrounded him tightly, and his eyebrows were scrunched together. Mark reached out and placed his thumb right between the omega’s eyebrows to relax them.

  
  


Mark’d hand slide down to cup Donghyuck’s face. Mark knew it wasn’t a good idea to keep Donghyuck here, he’ll probably wake up and murder Mark in his sleep, but for now, Mark was tired. So he let the gentle warmth of his mate lull him to sleep.

  
  


***

  
  


Mark woke up to an empty bed. It was cold, and lonely. The blankets that were once wrapped around Donghyuck, were now draped over him instead. His eyes locked onto his clock that read: 8:00AM. Mark sighed and slouched back onto his bed. He woke up way to early on a Saturday. 

  
  


Donghyuck’s scent lingered on his sheets, but Mark knew that it’d be gone by later today. Mark sprawled out on his bed as he stared up at his ceiling. His mind jumping from thought to thought, but each thought only consisted of a certain omega.

  
  


***

  
  


It was half past seven by the time Donghyuck has made it back to his house. He did not expect himself to wake up in Mark’s bed - he didn’t even expect to pass out like that in front of his house. 

  
  


Donghyuck had no idea why he even wondered there in the first place, and why he even stayed for that long. But it was just his heart calling out to Mark. But he hadn’t even stood out in the cold for that long before his chest grew weak, and his knees gave out beneath him. Maybe it had begun? Maybe Donghyuck would never live the life he wish he could have.

  
  


***

  
  


The bruises that had once decorated Donghyuck’s skin weeks ago have now healed. He was still alone most of the time in his class, and Mark stilled ignored him. Donghyuck knows that he should probably go up to Mark and confront him about the whole situation, so that they can at least discuss a plan the would result in neither of them dying. But Donghyuck was scared.

  
  


Donghyuck was not only scared because of Oh Sujin’s group that hung out around Mark even more after they beat Donghyuck up, but Donghyuck also had very low self-esteem. After Donghyuck found out the fact that Mark would rather hide then come out was ridiculous. Many couples in their school were dating the same gender. Or maybe it was the fact that Donghyuck didn’t live up to the standards Mark had for a mate. Whatever it was, Donghyuck needed to man the fuck up before it was too late.

  
  


Donghyuck knows he only had an exact two days left before his body starts to fall weak from the somewhat rejection Mark gave him. Once he falls ill for exactly a week, he either dies or suffers a little more and then die. After he’s gone, it was Mark’s turn, and Donghyuck didn’t want Mark to go through all the suffering. 

  
  


Donghyuck just needed to get Mark by himself so that he wouldn’t get harassed by any of his friends. Then he’ll just wing it after that. Maybe not the best plan, but if Donghyuck put to much thought into it, he’d probably chicken out of it.

  
  


But Donghyuck just seemed to have the worst luck ever.

  
  


***

  
  


Donghyuck was in the middle of art class when his right arm started to radiate with pain. He couldn’t understand why. He glanced over at Jaemin and Jeno who were finally in class. They were working on their project together, and having a swell time in their own little world. 

  
  


They had walked into class today with large grins on their faces, and didn’t even think about asking how Donghyuck had been. They still talked to him, but he didn’t really try to drag their conversation on with the spoiled mood he had woken up in this morning.

  
  


The pain in his arm seemed to have worsened as he stared at the pair. He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, and was surprised to see black faded out lines run up and down in his arm. He placed a finger on top of a line to flinch back from the pain. What the heck were those?

  
  


“Woah, Hyuck, have you been drawing on yourself again?” Jaemin peered over his shoulder and glanced at his arm. 

  
  


Donghyuck jumped in surprise, and swiftly pushed down the sleeve of his shirt. “W-what?”

  
  


“What are those lines on your arms?” Jaemin gestured towards his right arm. 

  
  


“Lines?” Jeno had now jumped into the conversation. 

  
  


“Yeah, Hyuckie has some weird lines on his arms. Show him, Hyuck,” Jaemin reached out towards the cuff of Donghyuck’s sleeve.

  
  


“No!” Donghyuck retracted his arm from Jaemin’s reach. The pain in his arm seemed to have quadrupled, and he slumped over into his desk with a groan.

  
  


“Woah, Hyuck!” Jaemin placed his hands on his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  
  


Donghyuck could only groan in reply as he cradled his arm close to his chest.

  
  


“Jaemin, I don’t think those lines are what we think they are,” Jeno whispered so that only the three of them would be able to hear.

  
  


“Wait- you don’t mean- ”

  
  


“You know exactly what I mean,” Jeno whispered harshly.

  
  


“Oh my god, we have to get you out of here, Hyuck. Come on,” Jaemin grabbed his pain free hand.

  
  


“I can’t,” Donghyuck cried silently, “it hurts.” His body was flushed red, and his heartbeat was accelerated. The pain that was once only in his right arm, had traveled all the way to his shoulder, and slowly crept its way towards Donghyuck chest.

  
  


“It hurts, it hurts,” Donghyuck cried painfully. His cries were almost deaf to his own ears. He wasn’t able to control the volume of his voice, which led to him gaining attention from some of his classmates.

  
  


His body trembled in flashes of heat, and flashes of cold. His mind was clouded, and he really just wanted to place his head down and just sleep. 

  
  


“Donghyuck,” a soft voice rang beside him. “We need to get you to the nurse and calm you down before the ambulance arrives, okay?”

  
  


“Ambulance?” Donghyuck asked. The pain grew up his neck, and he groaned. His ears started to ring, and voices around him became muffled. 

  
  


“Can… stand?” 

  
  


“Stand?” Donghyuck placed his left hand on his desk to support himself as he pushed himself up, and before he knew it, his whole world turned sideways, and his world turned black. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you guys read this, this chapter was originally uploaded in November, but I have erased all parts of it, and replaced it with this much better version of it because I could not deal with how trashy it was. Although this is trashy as well, it is a better type of trashy, and defiantly makes me more confident to upload. enjoy!

Mark traced the top of his left hand as he examined the black lines that have shown up on his hand. The lines traveled from the tip of his left fingers, all the way up towards his shoulder, and were continuing to grow towards his chest. They resembled a connection of rivers that were thin, and intertwined with one another.

  
  


“You’re so lucky he’s not dead,” Jaemin was ready to pounce at Mark. His fists were clenched, and his eyes glowed a yellow hue, showing his true beta side.

  
  


Mark mumbled an, “I know,” before he slumped down on the hospital chair. He had no idea what any of the side effects of rejecting a mate were, and he was only just informed a few hours ago when the doctor sat him down in his office to explain all the different types of consequences. Apparently there’s more then just one, and Mark had no idea, he honestly didn’t even know there was one in the first place. 

  
  


Donghyuck just happened to recieve the worst one, which was painful lines forming on his body that slowly inject poison into the body. After a week, it is suppose to kill you, but luckily, Donghyuck was able to seek medical help at a hospital in Seoul that specialized in that type of rejection aftermath. Now the both of them are left to deal with the permanent lines. The doctor also mentioned that the poison stopping had something to do with Mark’s feelings changing, but he decided to put that aside for the moment.

  
  


Donghyuck’s heart monitor was beeping in the corner at a normal constant rate, and his tan skin was regaining its original brightness.

  
  


After Donghyuck had collapsed in art class, Mark could feel the waves of pain the younger was feeling, and he too collapsed right after. But fortunately for him, he didn’t black out or anything. He had only collapsed onto his knees with great pain in his left hand. He clutched it to try and help it release the pain, but all Mark could feel at the time was snake like vines growing on his skin. Leaving a burning path as it traveled up his arm. But Donghyuck had felt the pain on a much higher scale than Mark did, and passed out from it.

  
  


The pain that Donghyuck felt was on a much higher scale than Mark’s. It couldn’t even compare. Mark had collapsed onto his knees due to the pain, but Donghyuck passed out almost immediately, causing Mark to assume he was dead.

  
  


He was immediately taken to the hospital along with Mark, and now he’s pretty sure the entire school knows that they’re mates. But that’s the least of his worries at this point. 

  
  


A nurse knocked on the door, “legal guardians on both sides were called and they said to be on their way home by tomorrow,” she explained softly.

  
  


The trio nodded, unable to reply with the tension in the room.

  
  


“Also, the patient’s brother is here, and is visiting as well. Since he is the only blood related at the moment, if he were to ask for privacy with the patient, please respect his choices.” The petite nurse widened the door for a young male to walk in. His hair was dyed a golden blond, and his height was strikingly the tallest among the people in the room.

  
  


The nurse made her leave, and the boy shut the door behind him. He glanced around at the trio, before silently making his way towards his brother. A grimace made way upon his face as he noticed the now permanent lines inked on his brother’s body, “oh,  _ hyung _ .” He mumbled.

  
  


The boy traced the black lines with the tip of his fingers. Dragging it with such grace it could resemble the touch of a feather.

  
  


The trio glanced back and forth at each other, each one internally debating whether they should leave and give him privacy. The boy suddenly turned towards the trio, “I’m Jisung,” he introduced himself.

  
  


“I’m-”

  
  


“-Jaemin. I know,” Jisung cut him off. “I know who  _ all _ of you guys are, Donghyuck  _ hyung _ talks about you guys  _ all _ the time.” Jisung rolled his eyes at the thought of his older brother being infatuated with people who, honestly, don’t deserve him in their lives. “And in all honesty, I don’t like you guys, but  _ hyung _ does, so I’m not gonna say much more.” Mark grimaced at his tone. Jisung knew who Mark was, which obviously wasn’t a good impression.

  
  


Donghyuck started to spur from his spot. Mark’s breath hitched and his heart rate started to pick up. He watched as Jaemin and Jeno gathered around Donghyuck next to Jisung to greet him when he wakes up.

  
  


But Mark stayed rooted in his spot. His mind raced with a million of thoughts. He was not ready to be confronted by Donghyuck yet. He didn’t want to get beaten down for what he has down. And so he shakily stood up from his seat, stumbling slightly, and knocked his ankle into the chair. Catching the attention of Jaemin, Jeno and Jisung who turned to look at him, but before they could ask if he was okay - he dashed out the door.

  
  


***

  
  


Mark stayed huddled in his house the rest of the weekend. The guilt of leaving Donghyuck back at the hospital consumed him, and all he could think about was Donghyuck, Donghyuck, Donghyuck.

  
  


Jaemin had somehow gotten his phone number after his mad dash out of the hospital, and messaged him multiple times over the past few days. The first messages were long angry paragraphs about him being all sorts of swear words, but they later developed into small updates about Donghyuck.

  
  


Just last night, Jaemin had messaged Mark to update him that the injured omega had just gotten out of the hospital, and was doing better emotionally then expected. 

  
  


Mark’s mother and father came home just yesterday, and smacked him a couple times in the head before grounding him for rejecting his soulmate. He explained to them that his mate was a male, therefore, he thought they would be extremely mad at him. But they later on explained that they didn’t care about that. Sure they were religious, but homosexuality was never something they were against. Mark was dumbfounded, and spent the rest of that day in his room reflecting on his actions.

  
  


He groaned for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, and rubbed his face into his pillow. Why were mates such a stressful topic? 

  
  


He originally planned to skip the upcoming week of school, hoping to stretch out the time of him not seeing Donghyuck, but his parents were very much against the plan. He just hopes it ends well.

  
  


***

  
  


Mark knew he was bound to run into Donghyuck sometime during the school day, but he didn’t think it’d be right when he stepped into school.

  
  


Mark had gotten to school early, and decided to hang around outside to skip his first two hours. Right when he stepped in, Donghyuck was huddled between a wall and a locker. His back was pressed against the locker as he gathered the pages of what seemed to be from his sketchbook. His hair was devilish, and his uniform was all bunched up. Mark hesitantly headed towards the omega, and crouched down to help.

  
  


Donghyuck flinched in shock from a random person helping him. He looked up to see Mark.

  
  


“Hey,” Mark muttered as he avoided eye contact, and continued to pick up the papers. “What happened?”

  
  


Donghyuck remained silent. “What do you think?” He replied with a roll of his eyes.

  
  


“It was them again?” Mark asked. His eyes refusing to leave the ground as they continued to pick up the papers.

  
  


Donghyuck nodded. His lips were in a grim straight line. He honestly wanted to scoff at Mark, as if he was never apart of their taunting in the first place. Although he never did anything physically to Donghyuck, he was there almost every single time they harassed him. Mark never made a move to stop them, and now he suddenly acts like he cares? Now realizing that Mark knew about their connection the entire time, just made Donghyuck’s anger burn even stronger.

  
  


Mark sighed, and his grip tightened around his knee, “I’m sorry. I-” Mark let out a frustrated sigh. He honestly didn’t know what to say to the omega at this point. He knew an apology just wasn't enough.

  
  


Donghyuck looked up. His eyes held shock as he scanned Mark up and down. He didn’t expect to ever hear an apology from the alpha. Donghyuck has been holding resentment towards the alpha over the weekend. Resentment for him running away. For him leaving him alone. For him being embarrassed of his mate. For him not wanting him. 

  
  


When he had woken up, Jaemin had explained to him about Mark’s disappearance. It left Donghyuck in a foul mood, but in all honesty, he wasn’t even be surprised. Donghyuck was at the lowest part of the chain in society. Not just because of his omega status, but because of his appearance as well.

  
  


But his foul mood was immediately diminished after coming up close with Mark. The way the alpha’s eyelashes brushed his high cheekbones every time he blinked. The way he bit his lip when he was nervous. The way his every touch was gentle to the bone. Those were just some of the things Donghyuck noticed about Mark throughout the years, and they were also the things that held the omega captive.

  
  


His eyes fell upon Mark’s gaze, and followed it. Mark gently held onto one of Donghyuck’s charcoal drawings. It was shaded in black and white, and he made sure every detail was there when he had drawn it. It was a drawing of Mark. A drawing of Mark sitting on the edge of the school theater stage, and playing his guitar. His hoodie was pulled up over his head, and his circular glasses hung on the tip of his nose.

  
  


Donghyuck immediately reached for the drawing, but Mark turned before the younger could grasp it. “Is-is this me?” Mark looked up from the drawing towards Donghyuck.

  
  


Donghyuck nodded. “I’m sorry,” he squeaked. 

  
  


On that particular day, Donghyuck has managed to sneak into the theater to lounge around after school to draw, since Mark’s group of friends were hanging around by the exit. Oddly enough, Mark wasn’t around them, but Donghyuck ended up stumbling across the said alpha when he heard the gentle strums of an acoustic guitar from the theater stage. The lights were dim enough for Donghyuck to hide in the back without being seen, and he spent his time swaying to Mark’s singing as he carefully sketched out the alpha.

  
  


“Just give me it back, and we can be on our separate ways.” Donghyuck made a leap for the drawing once again.

  
  


But Mark reached out to stop him from reaching the drawing. His left hand was reached out, and gripped onto Donghyuck’s right wrist, which was covered in black lines, similar to Mark’s.

  
  


Mark immediately retracted his arms. The lines on both of their skins that came in contact with flesh were glowing a slight gold. The lines shimmered slightly after Mark had retracted his hand, but they faded soon after. Mark used his right hand, the hand without any markings, to trace the once golden lines to try and revive them, but it was no use. He then used his other hand that was covered in the lines to trace them. Immediately, the once dark lines reacted, and bloomed into the same golden color. They followed the path that Mark’s finger traced, and slowly faded away as time passed.

  
  


As Mark was distracted, Donghyuck took that moment to lunged forward for his drawing. “Ha!” Donghyuck smirked in triumph as he was able to retrieve back his drawing.

  
  


Mark stood helplessly as he watched Donghyuck scurry around to retrieve the rest of his pages. The omega was about to make a dash to leave when:

  
  


“Donghyuck, I’m sorry.” Mark said once again.

  
  


Donghyuck paused in his position. His back faced the alpha, and his arms tightened around his messed up pages. His faced the ground, and his shoulders were hunched forward slightly. But Donghyuck remained silent.

  
  


“I’m sorry for the way I treated you, and for not seeking you out sooner. I’m sorry for being a dick, and the worse ever possible mate an omega could have. You deserve way better, and if I could without you dying, I’d break this bond and let you have better. But - but I can’t.” Mark sighed. His hand that was reached out as if he was reaching for Donghyuck, fell limp down at his side.

  
  


“Mark,” Donghyuck started. He turned around to face the older. “I don’t hate you. I don’t think I could ever possibly hate someone who was destined for me. Someone who I have been infatuated with for over the longest time. But right now, I don’t like you that much either.” 

  
  


Donghyuck took a couple steps closer towards Mark. “I spent so long hoping my mate would show up, and sweep me off my feet. But instead, my mate literally watched me get swept off my feet.” Donghyuck said, referring towards the time his was knocked onto the ground by his group of friends.

  
  


“Donghyuck, I know you don’t like me at the moment. But, I wanna make it up to you. I want to explain myself, and I want to sweep you off your feet. I don’t think I could possibly ever express how sorry I am, but I’ll continue to show you until the day I die. I know I’m not worthy of you, and you definitely deserve someone better, but as of now, I am willing to dedicate every single one of my last breaths for you. I will cherish you till the day I die, and the moments we have together I will treasure. So please, give me one more chance.”

  
  


During his speech, Mark had reached out and grabbed both of Donghyuck’s hands. His thumbs traced up and down onto his palms. The lines he traced tingled as the glowed. Donghyuck was avoiding eye contact the entire time, but his ears were flushed a deep red. 

  
  


“Mark, I’ll give you a chance.” Donghyuck released Mark’s hands and backed up. “But, one mistake, and I’m going to have to rethink.”

  
  


Mark’s eyes lit up with relief, and he drew the younger in for a hug. Mark wrapped his arms tightly around Donghyuck. 

  
  


Donghyuck was shocked by the sudden gust of affection, but he quickly relaxed once he realized this was Mark trying his best. He hesitantly reached his arms out to wrap around the alpha, and returned the hug.

  
  


***

  
  


“Mark, sometimes I really hate these stupid lines,” Donghyuck whined.

  
  


The pair sat next to each other on Donghyuck’s couch, they were watching what seemed to be a random cartoon that the pair had never heard of before. It’s been a whole two weeks since their encounter in the hallways, and Donghyuck was already swept off feet. Although he would never admit it, cause he hates to admit defeat, it was quite obvious to Mark. Although at first, Donghyuck was hesitant, he later gave into Mark’s cheesy remarks, and adoring eyes. 

  
  


Donghyuck had his head on Mark’s lap as Mark ran his fingers through the younger’s hair.

  
  


“What, why?” Mark asked in shock. Mark personally adored the dark inked lines on the both of them.

  
  


“Because - I don’t know, don’t they annoy you sometimes?” Donghyuck asked. “People just stare all the time when you aren’t there,” Donghyuck curled up into himself.

  
  


Mark noticed that, and hauled the younger into his lap so that Donghyuck was facing Mark with his legs spread apart. Donghyuck buried his head into his alpha’s chest.

  
  
  


“Never,” Mark replied. “Cause every time I look at them, I think of you,” Mark replied cheekily.

  
  


“Shut up,” Donghyuck blushes and slapped the alpha’s shoulder.

  
  


“And if they ever look at you judgingly again, puff up your chest and ask them if they have a problem,” Mark knew his boyfriend had fiery side to him. He definitely did, but he hid it behind a layer of bashfulness. “You know what I call these lines?” Mark hummed in question as he traced Donghyuck’s lines.

  
  


“What?” Donghyuck blinked curiously.

  
  


“Our lines of love,” Mark grinned. 

  
  


“Really?” Donghyuck was surprised. 

  
  


“Really.” Mark hooked his finger underneath the omega’s chin, and drew him in for a kiss.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> definitely not the best ending, but the best one I could think of ://


End file.
